What the Book Doesn't Cover
by lifeislikeaboxofbertiebotts
Summary: Henry's book doesn't have all the stories. Once the curse is broken, he fills in the blanks by going to the source. An OC story about Gerda from The Snow Queen, Robin Hood, & many more. Features canon OUAT characters as well.
1. Talking at Granny's

A/N: So I haven't published anything on here in a long time, & OUAT is the new obsession that will not end, so I thought what the heck. This is an OC story mostly covering the story of a few characters who haven't popped up in Storybrooke (or Fairytale Land) yet & the telling of their story to Henry, the true savior as far as I'm concerned. Seriously, that's 1 smart kid! Anyway, that doesn't mean all of your favorites won't show up, either on the Storybrooke side of things or in the Fairytale Land flashbacks.

A little backstory on my MC's Storybrooke persona—her name is Tess Freeman & she's 20-something years old. Hopefully the rest'll come out as the story unfolds, but feel free to ask any questions & I'll be sure to answer them.

Right, rambling over—on with the story!

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Nobody doubted that Henry Mills was an inquisitive child. He had to be, to have realized he was living in a cursed town and to have found his birth mother the way he did. Which is why when he arrived at Granny's, I wasn't at all surprised that he approached me. After all, while we were still cursed he never had been able to figure out who I was.

"Hey, Tess," Henry asked as he slid into the booth across from me at Granny's, "how come you're not in the book?"

I smiled at the kid, noticing he was still in his school uniform. "You've been dying to ask, haven't you?"

He shrugged. "I'd have talked to you about it sooner, but you've been busy. Now that my mom and Mary Margaret are finally back though, things have calmed down enough that I thought I'd ask."

"Fair enough." I finished my sandwich, then said, "You'll have to ask August—assuming he ever shows up again—but I'd suspect the main reason is that he barely knew me as Pinocchio. I mean I met him just a year before the curse was enacted, and we really never got to talking about my past."

"Well yeah, but the book has a lot of peoples' stories and Pinocchio was a kid when the curse happened, so I don't think he could have met that many people." Pointing to my plate, Henry asked, "Can I have a fry?"

"Help yourself." I pushed the plate towards him, pondering over just how August _had_ learned so much about so many of our compatriots. "It's a good question, Henry, one I wish I knew the answer to. Luckily, you don't just have to rely on the book anymore to hear the real stories. So, what do you want to know?"

Henry sat up straighter, swallowing his fry. "Well, Will's actually your brother right? And I know Scarlett is actually Marion. So does that make them Robin Hood and Maid Marion? And if it does, then who are you in that story? I know your real name's Gerda, but there's no Gerda in this world's Robin Hood stories."

I laughed. "Okay, whoa, slow down. Yes, Will and Scarlett are Robin Hood and Maid Marion. But this world doesn't tell mine and Robin's stories together; in this world, the closest thing to my story involves my grandmother and my cousin, Kai."

"'The Snow Queen'! I _knew_ your name was familiar."

"Very good," I said. "My story isn't as popular here as your grandparents'; I'm surprised you know it."

Henry smirked in that way that reminded me of Emma. "Please, after I figured out my book was real, I read every fairytale I could get my hands on. 'The Snow Queen' is one of Hans Christian Anderson's most famous stories, after 'The Little Mermaid'."

I rolled my eyes, though I was sure Henry could detect my amusement. "Please, don't even get me started on her."

"Hey you two, can I get you anything else?"

We looked up at Ruby, who neither of us had noticed approaching. "Well, if I'm going to be telling Henry here my life story, I think we're going to need some hot chocolate."

"You're telling Henry your life story?" Ruby asked as she picked up my empty plate.

"Well yeah, the kid knows a lot of yours'. Only fair he hears mine too if he wants."

"Can I listen in?"

"You already know my story, Red."

"Not the beginning," my friend said. "C'mon, please?"

Henry watched our exchange with feigned disinterest, no doubt not wanting to press his luck. Rolling my eyes again, I said, "Oh, alright…"

"Great! I'll be right back with your hot chocolate, don't start without me!" Ruby ran off, leaving me alone with Henry once more. "Your mom does know you're here, right? She's not going to think you've gone missing or anything?"

Henry nodded. "I told Mary Margaret I wanted to talk to you. She said you'd probably be here and that she'd let Mom know where I was."

Typical Snow. She always encouraged Henry's curiosity as his teacher, so of course she encouraged it as his grandmother. "Alright then. Well the first thing you should know is that Hans Christian Anderson had a very vivid imagination, considering there never was a Snow Queen."

"No?" Henry said.

"No," I confirmed. "Though the _Evil_ Queen does play a pretty important role in the story, and it does snow a lot back home—maybe that's where he got the idea. Anyway—"

"Three hot chocolates, one with cinnamon, and my fifteen minute break starts now," Ruby cut in, scooting into the booth next to Henry.

I accepted my hot chocolate with a grateful smile, amused by Red and Henry's shared enthusiasm. "Once upon a time…"

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So there's the set-up. Not my best writing, but it is what it is. Reviews much appreciated, more to come hopefully soon.

& thanks for reading! ~A.C.


	2. An Origin Story

A/N: So here's the 2nd chapter, really starting to get into the meat of the story. The way I envision this fic going is back & forth between the Storybrooke frame & the Fairytale Land narratives so this is the 1st flashback-type chapter; I hope you guys enjoy it.

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Once upon a time there was a little village in the heart of King Leopold's kingdom. I lived there as a young child, along with my parents and my brother Robin, who was eight years older than me and treated me like a princess. My cousin Kai, who was a couple years younger than me, and my brother's best friend John lived nearby, as did a beautiful girl named Marion. On her tenth birthday Marion went to live with some relatives who were part of King Leopold's court, and not a full season later the Evil Queen killed King Leopold and took over the kingdom as her own.

Now many people accepted the change in regime without resistance because they feared Regina's power. Some however were vocal about their opposition to her and their loyalty to the true heir to the kingdom, Snow White. My village was among those that protested by ceasing to export goods to the palace. It wasn't enough to have a true impact on the new queen's power status, but it was enough to anger her.

Every week my parents and my aunt and uncle went to market together, leaving Kai and I in Robin's care. John, who had no siblings or cousins of his own, usually came over to help. It was on one such day that the Evil Queen decided to make her anger known…

"Higher, Rob, higher!"

My brother swung me around as if I weighed nothing at all, my arms extending as my legs swung higher and higher.

"Wheeeee!" I laughed as Robin slowed down and brought me in for a hug. Holding to him tight, I said, "I love you, Rob."

"Love you too little fox," he said. Setting me down, he turned to Kai. "You want a turn?"

Kai shook his head, clutching to his stuffed bear, which Robin always joked looked more like a deer. John patted his shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, kid, not all of us are as keen to fly as Rob and Gerda."

"I could probably swing you around," Robin offered. "You're still short enough."

John stuck his tongue out in reply.

"Rob, what's that?" I pointed above the cottages, in the direction of the city limits. There was a green-gray smoke rising.

All the color drained from both my brother's and John's faces. "A fire," he said under his breath. "A big one." Taking my hand, he said, "Come on, we have to go."

John scooped up Kai into his arms and led the way, away from the smoke. Looking over my shoulder, I saw it had already grown twice its initial size.

"Don't look, Gerda, keep going. Come on."

Robin pulled me along in a run, but I didn't need to look back to feel the air growing hotter and thicker. Soon we were all coughing, and Robin was picking me up and was carrying me along.

"Where we goin'?"

"To Grandmother's house."

"Over the river?" I mumbled.

Robin nodded against me. "And through the woods."

Snuggling into his shoulder, I nodded back.

He shook me slightly. "Hey, no sleeping okay? Come on, stay with me."

I started to answer him, but it came out as a violent cough. I could barely see John and Kai through the smoke anymore.

"Rob!" John called. "Rob, I see flames!"

"Try to go around them!"

The two boys ran to the right, but even I could see the flames. They were a strange color, not at all like the red and yellow hued bonfires I was used to. Instead they burned bright green and rose higher than the roofs of the houses.

"Why are the flames green, Rob?"

"They're not," my brother answered. "Close your eyes little fox. Don't look."

I nodded, but kept my eyes squinted open. I was scared, but it scared me even more to not see what was happening.

"There's no end to it, Rob!" John said. "What do we do?"

"Turn around. Go back!"

"Fire's behind us too," I whispered.

Robin turned and saw I was right. We were trapped.

"I'm scared," I said.

"I am too," Robin admitted. He held me closer, and moved nearer to John and Kai.

"What do we do?" John asked again.

"Keep moving."

But soon there was no where to go. It was getting harder to breathe and all I could see was green.

"Rob!"

"Shhh little fox, shhhh." Robin prompted me to bury my head against his chest and I obeyed. We could feel the fire upon up, when suddenly a cold breeze blew through. Looking up, I saw an opening in the flames, the green pressed down by a golden wind.

"What is that?" I asked, but no one answered. Robin and John had taken off in a dash through the clearing, carrying Kai and me through. They continued running until the air began to clear and they didn't stop until we reached the river.

We waited there through the night, and though Robin told me not to, I watched the smoke from our village hover over the trees. No one else came. In the morning, Robin silently led us to Grandmother's house. By then of course, the entire kingdom had heard of what the example the Evil Queen had made of us and she'd assumed we were all dead. And after we arrived at her door she hid us away indoors, afraid the Evil Queen might hear about survivors and come after us.

It was hard, but Kai and I were very young and very scared—we did as we were told. My bother and John however couldn't take it. After just a year they left Kai and I in Grandmother's care while they sought their fortunes elsewhere, with Robin promising to visit me often.

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Well there you have it, next chapter we'll see what Henry & Ruby thought of Tess'/Gerda's origin story amongst other things. Thanks for reading & please review if you are so compelled. Ciao for now!

~A.C.


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